Nothing is a substitute for, not only riding against traffic. But also, without the proper lighting, and if one chooses to, at night. Not to mention a 50mph road. Essentially(depending on the actual speed of the motorist and the speed of the cyclist), It was a collision potentially at 45-70mph(10-20mph, cyclist; 35-50mph, motorist).

I am not harping about riding on a road with that speed limit. Just pointing out how it added to the first two 'illegal maneuvers' he was doing.